What is the minimum size pot to grow an auto flower?

Hi I’m Going to grow, and auto flower for the first time. Providing, I’m prepared to water it frequently what is the minimum size pot I could get away with? I will be growing indoor thanks

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Hey Buddy :skull:

I would say depends on what you expect to harvest. I grew these 2 Autos (Strawberry Gorilla/Banana PP - 420Fastbuds) for the first weeks in 1L (indoor, just water, ~60W) and ~5L when they started flowering (moved them Outdoor, just Water and sunshine, no fertilizer)

They’re now day 95 from seed, ~80cm

and almost ready.

I bet you could go in 1L from seed to harvest or even less. I’ve seen grows in soda cans and such experiments. :joy::man_shrugging:t4: everything is possible, but the result will be different.

Best Regards

Reaper :skull:🫡

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One gallon tall pots. They are made for tree saplings.

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Some say 6 inches.
Tagging expert @Foreigner

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What’s your reasoning for going the smallest pot possible? You’re gonna hurt your yields the smaller you go and make it harder on yourself.

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Tried a 3 gallon with the scarlet grape auto fems got a 20 inch plant id go with a 5 gallon bucket next time i think those are a little longer and wider but not as big as my 7 gallon pots.Evertime i try them in smaller pots i keep getting these 8 inch bud plants and it makes me get annoyed with them they take longer to trigger in bigger pots so its a double edge sword bur id rather have a bigger plant personally

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The beautiful scarlet grape. :two_hearts: I need to find my way back around to some of those. That lime pheno 🤌

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I have 5 fem seeds for the scarlet grapes, let me know if you want them :grin::call_me_hand: @AppalachianBiscuits

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3gal coco or 5gal soil is a nice size that should crush with autos

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Absolutely not. You must grow them yourself, they are a delight. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy

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Her sister, scarlet runtz is growing vigorously and is smelling amazing. I might have to make some space for the grapes

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I guess why I am asking because I am told to start them off in the final pot you flower them in. And how repotting them is such a bad thing because they are auto flowers

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depending on how gentle you repot, plants will take a few moments (days) to get settled again.
For Autos that only take 2-3 month total, thats vital time.

They also appear to (speculation) to trigger flower when the pot is getting filled with roots and You might want to delay that by repotting in time or going straight for the big pot.
Some plants appear to stop most of their root growth after filling the first pot and dont grow further after repotting (too late).

But…

Many here do repot sometimes, or always, and its not as detrimental as it may seem at first.
It has many upsides like a less likely chance to overwater which would stunt your growth much harder than a gentle repot. Or you dont need to worry about choosing the right pot right away in case you are selecting etc.

repotting: increased safety not to loose the whole plant

direct to final pot: increased safety to get optimal growth
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As for minimum size… google/OG search micro grows, or even nano grows… they can be tiiiiiny. Autos are bonsias compared to even small photos.

i guess the “norm” is 1gal, 3gal and 5gal, with everyone being sure that their chosen size will bring them happiness. And it will.
ive seen autos here that do 25g/1oz in half a gal / 2l. Mine only gave 1oz in 3gal/11l. but ive seen massive 8oz plants in huge 10gal+ pots too, so theres that…
just a question of what You wanna do, and if you do it, it will happen.
conceive, believe, achieve ehm ehm. lul.

Autos seem to prefer larger pots than photos as it appears to delay their flowering time a bit, so they tend to stay in vegetation longer, leading to more growth which can then grow flowers and make roots to feed them. Photos just stay in veg until the time is right and might fill a pot with roots properly before flowering even starts.

Id say it depends on the size n shape of your growing space, time you want to spend, amount of possible plants, and amount you wish to harvest.

Dont underestimate small pots, they offer alot of control and insights.

Those tall pots, rectangular, seem to be good to get more plants in a smaller horizontal space,
and to possibly delay flower more compared to a same volume wide pots (speculation on here sometimes).

If you train them heavily thou the plants might get wider and you might choose a wider pot anyway.

If you use soil, the top part is the most active and alive, the deeper a pot gets the more boring it becomes for roots and wildlife. This would suggest that a wider pot would be more optimal.
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keep an eye on what kinda drainage the pot has, as that plays together with your soil medium,
does it have flat holes on the bottom (strongest drainage)?
does it have raised holes (offers a small reservoir at the bottom)?
does it have many too large holes (medium might fall/flush out)?

or wether your pots have a top edge thats bent like a proper brim so you can easily attach wire hooks for training.

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@Red13 I’ve had good luck starting autos in solo cups and stacking them in bigger containers at the first signs of gender. I prep the bottoms of the solo cups with fairly large drainage holes and the roots grow out into the larger container. It’s basically transplanting without removing the plant from their container.

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You won’t catch me transplanting an auto. I usually grow in DWC, but I’m into putting autos outside this year and they asses go directly in. I’ve settled on a 5gal SIP planter

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The smallest I’ve done an auto was a 3 gallon SIP with Grow Dots and that produced about 6 ounces so it went quite well but I wouldn’t go smaller than that, personally. I wouldn’t want to do a 3 gallon without it being a SIP, either.

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Seen this method rescently being used here on OG, can easily be replicated with solo cups and scissors. Seems kinda smartish.

how come? preferation? bad experiences?

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Imo
5 gallon smart pots.
Sometimes autos misbehave and go huge
Sometimes they dwarf.
But however big you let them get the bigger the root
Ball the bigger the harvest.
Good luck

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Bad experiences/ I’m bad at it. I like to leave them in a solo too long. I usually grow in hydro so pot size and up potting confuses me

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I heard somebody else say it once but “Bigger roots = Bigger fruits”. Applies to most plants.

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